Consequences
by piper05et05
Summary: Life isn't always as simple as it seems. Every action has a consequence...GSR,GrOC,WOC,NOC,CVa.....PLEASE REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

**28th May 2006 - LVPD Crime Lab Break Room - 11.02pm**

Sara had just finished pouring herself a cup of coffee when Grissom strode in, his face sombre. A hush stole across the break room as the CSIs noted the expression; when Grissom looked like that, it was never good.

"Sorry guys, but it looks like doubles for all of us tonight." Grissom glanced back down at the assignment slips in his hands. "We've got a lot of crime scene to cover."

Warrick looked around the room, noticing they were one person short. "Hey, wasn't Cath supposed to be back from that conference tonight?"

Grissom nodded. "She was, but her flight from Chicago was delayed, so she missed her connection in Denver, and she's stuck there until the next flight back, which doesn't get in until 4am. It's unfortunate timing, but she'll be back tomorrow night."

Grissom held out the first slip for Nick to take. "Nick, Sara, you have a missing persons out in Henderson. Young woman didn't come home from work. Detective O'Riley is waiting for you." As Nick and Sara began to gather their possessions to head out, Grissom turned to the remaining CSIs. "The rest of us have a multiple out on Sunset. Casino owner and his family found dead round the dining table, dinner left uneaten on it."

"Damn." Warrick muttered under his breath. "How many?" Grissom sighed.

"Five."

Greg looked worried. "Five? We really are gonna be stretched if there's only three of us on this."

Grissom tilted his head slightly in acknowledgement. "I spoke to Ecklie. He said he'd try to get us some help from one of the other shifts. I'm not holding out too much hope though."

Greg shook his head. "This really couldn't have happened at a worse time could it? We're short handed, and homicide have been in chaos with Brass in the hospital."

"Well, I got a memo saying they've finally assigned someone as acting captain, so with a little luck that situation may have improved." Grissom noticed Warrick looked mildly surprised. "What?"

"**You** actually read a memo?"

Grissom responded to that with a dry look. "Her name is Leighanne Andrews, and she's a lieutenant from days. Rumour has it she doesn't like to be kept waiting so we should head out."

**North Las Vegas - 11.33pm**

Greg looked in awe at the huge house they stood before. "That's it," he declared. "I'm in the wrong job." He glanced at the older man beside him. "Grissom, I quit."

Grissom replied flatly. "That's fine Greg, but not tonight." He paused for a beat. "We're already short staffed."

Grissom looked around as Greg exaggerated a sigh. Blue lights flashed all around. The front lawn was full of people. Everyone from noisy neighbours to homicide detectives; the latter busily trying to keep the reporters behind the crime scene tape. It was always the same when a personality was killed, no matter how minor their claim to fame. In Vegas it didn't get any better than a casino owner.

"Gil Grissom?"

Grissom turned to face the woman who'd spoken. "Yes?"

"Hi, I'm Erin Donahue. This is Kim Allen. Ecklie sent us," the redhead told him.

"You're from days?" Grissom was amazed. One days volunteer to pull an extra shift on graveyard was rare, and here were two!

"That's right," Erin nodded.

"Thanks for coming," Grissom said.

"No problem," Erin smiled slightly.

"It's 'bout time y'all got here," a slim brunette drawled as she approached them.

"Detective Andrews?" Grissom guessed.

"Y'all can just call me Leighanne. You must be Grissom. Jim's told me a lot 'bout you. Says you're the best in the biz," Leighanne told him.

"I'm sure that's an exaggeration," Grissom said.

"We'll see."

"I never thought I'd see the day they'd put a woman in charge of Homicide," Greg piped up.

"You must be Sanders," Leighanne said, throwing Greg a dirty look. "Jim told me all 'bout you too." She didn't look amused, as she turned and headed towards the house.

"Oh yeah, she so wants me," Greg muttered to Warrick as they followed her.

"I seriously doubt that," Warrick shock his head, as he watched Leighanne walk away. She was extremely pretty for a homicide detective; she was also a lot more feminine than most women in the department. Warrick couldn't help but be attracted to her, despite himself.

Dragging his mind back to the crime scene they were about to process, Warrick followed the others as they made their way into the large Victorian style mansion. They all stopped inside the large foyer, which Warrick noted could easily contain his whole apartment.

"Brace you'selves," Leighanne drawled.

"That bad?" Erin asked with some trepidation.

"Think of the worst case we ever worked together." Leighanne told her, pausing as Erin pondered for an instant. "Now multiply it by one hundred, and you won't even get close to this."

"Do we have IDs for everyone?" Grissom asked her.

Leighanne flipped open her notebook and looked down. "Arthur Chamberlain, his wife Louise. Arthur's children, Ashleigh and Thomas. There's also Ashleigh's husband Nathan Marcus."

"Who found them?" Greg asked.

"Friend of the family," Leighanne answered, looking down at her notes again. "She says she arrived at around ten; Arthur had called her yesterday, asking her to come over for a small party. Friend arrived and found the door wide open. She searched the house for them and found them in the dining room. Screamed and ran next door to the neighbours where she called the police. Officer Metcalf arrived at half ten, he took one look at the bodies and called me. I arrived with Vartann and Sofia around fifteen minutes later, and we called you guys down here."

"Anything else we need to know?" Kim finally spoke.

"No, Al and David are in there just now. They're waiting for you."

Steeling themselves, the group entered the Chamberlain dining room. Blood pools were spreading on the floor, and the walls were pocked with bullet holes. David was crouched over a body on the floor, while Doc Robbins inspected another at the table. Both looked up as Leighanne entered with the CSIs.

"Hey," David began, a sombre expression on his face as he pulled a thermometer from the body he was examining. "Ninety-three degrees. T.O.D's about three and a half hours ago." As he spoke, the CSIs spread around the room, familiarising themselves with the scene.

"That'd make it around eight," Grissom noted, looking at his watch. "That would fit with them eating dinner I guess."

Greg nodded thoughtfully. "It looks like they knew their killer," he proposed.

"What makes you say that?" Warrick asked.

"Well, there are six plates of food on the table, but only five bodies," Greg said matter-of-factly, pointing to an empty chair at the food laden table.

"I don't think so," Al inserted, shaking his head. "If the killer was at the table these shots would be close range and they're not. I'd say the shooter probably stood about where Detective Andrews is."

"Someone else was in this room then. Possible witness maybe?" Kim glanced at Grissom enquiringly.

He nodded. "Or an accomplice."

Erin, who had been examining some bullet holes in the wall, suddenly looked up. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what? I didn't hear anything," Greg said, looking at Erin as if she were nuts.

"I could have sworn I heard something," she muttered, moving towards the table. "Excuse me Doc."

Doc Robbins moved aside as Erin knelt in front of the table. Reaching out she grabbed the table cloth and slowly pulled it up.

"We need an ambulance!"

**TBC...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

**29th May 2006 – North Las Vegas – 12.03am**

Leighanne watched as the ambulance holding the tiny body of eight-year-old Kayleigh Marcus sped down the driveway. Photographers were eagerly snapping pictures as it drove through the gates, and there was more than one news-team camera following its progress too. She knew without a doubt that the pictures and film would be all over the news within the next half hour, and with them the news that there was a survivor. When the perpetrator found out, this revelation wouldn't sit too well, and there was a good chance he'd come after the little girl again. Leighanne just couldn't let that happen; the little girl had suffered enough already.

"Sofia!" Leighanne called her fellow detective over.

"Captain," Sofia nodded as she approached.

"Jus' call me Leighanne. I have a favour to ask of ya. In 'bout ten or fifteen minutes I want ya to 'leak' to the press that the little girl died on the way to the hospital," Leighanne told her quietly, her concern evident in her voice.

"Why? Wouldn't it be better to let the killer know she was still alive? It might bring him out into the open," Sofia replied.

"No. I'm going to leave it up to Grissom and his team to find this guy. Kayleigh Marcus has been through enough, I refuse to use her as bait. And that's assuming she makes it; she's lost an awful lot of blood for such a small kid," Leighanne said sadly.

"Ok, I'll tell them that she died on the way to the hospital. That should protect her for a while, but sooner or later they _are_ going to find out that she's alive."

"Well I dunno 'bout you but I'm pulling for later."

Sofia nodded, and turned towards the media frenzy as her new captain walked back towards the house.

Most of the CSIs were still in the dining room when Leighanne returned. One, a young woman who Leighanne uncertainly identified as being named Kim, had gone with Officer Metcalf to the hospital to protect and process the little girl. Like most detectives and CSIs alike, Leighanne hated homicides involving children; it was one of the most unpleasant things they came across on the job.

"How's it coming along in here y'all?" Leighanne asked as she entered the room.

"We're getting there," Warrick told her sombrely.

"Have you started interviewing the neighbours?" Grissom asked.

"Yeah, I have Vartann and Sofia on that, but I want to speak with the friend myself," Leighanne told him.

"Warrick, I want you to go with her. Get the friend's statement, and see if she'll volunteer her fingerprints and a DNA sample," Grissom instructed.

"I'm on it," Warrick nodded, following Leighanne out of the room.

"Greg, I want you on the perimeter. Start outside and work your way in to the rest of the house. Although the disturbance appears on first appearances to be limited to this room, there may be something probative to be found." Grissom told him. "Erin, I want you in here; I'm going to head back with Al and David for the autopsies."

There was a brief moment of commotion as everyone set about their assigned tasks. Erin and Grissom moved about the room snapping photos of the bodies before they were removed. After several minutes, David began loading the bodies onto gurneys to be taken out to the waiting vans.

Less than fifteen minutes later, Erin was finally left alone in the large dining room to move around the room freely and process the scene.

She always did her best work when she was just left to her own devices. The peace and quiet helped her concentration. Without constant interruptions she could properly immerse herself in the evidence.

Examining the room, she softly mumbled to herself as she mentally catalogued the evidence, allowing herself to think out loud.

"Bloody shoe prints on the carpeting. Suspect probably stepped in Louise Chamberlain's blood. Will take swabs to be certain." Pulling out her digital camera, she snapped several pictures of the footprints. She then pulled out her measurement scale for reference and snapped a few more.

"Shoe prints seem to be a size eleven. Tread looks like a sneaker of some sort," Erin ruminated, taking down some notes.

Pulling out a swab, Erin bent down to take a sample of the blood. It was obvious on looking at the scene that the blood came from the pool that had formed near Mrs Chamberlain, but only a DNA comparison could confirm that for sure.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

"Miss Smith?" Leighanne asked a petite woman who was standing next to a white BMW, smoking shakily.

"Yes," the woman nodded, dropping her cigarette and stubbing it out with her shoe.

"I'm Lieutenant…"

"Captain," Warrick whispered in her ear.

"… Captain Leighanne Andrews, this is CSI Warrick Brown," Leighanne introduced them. "I need to ask you a few questions."

"I already told Officer Metcalf everything," Donna Smith told her.

"I'm aware of that, but I need to take your official statement. CSI Brown will also need to ask you a few things," Leighanne told her.

"Okay, ask your questions, but then can I go home?" Donna asked.

"Once you've answered all of our questions you'll be free to go," Leighanne assured her. "What time did you arrive at the house?"

"Around ten," Donna answered.

"Did you touch anything in the house?" Warrick asked.

"No. Arthur had called me earlier today and asked me to come over tonight as he and Louise had something exciting to tell me. The door was unlocked so I just let myself in as normal. I called out for them, but no one answered so I walked through the house looking for them. I got to the dining room and found them lying there covered….." Donna broke off as she started sobbing loudly. "I'm….sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry about, take all the time you need," Leighanne said sweetly, pulling a handkerchief from her pocket and handing it to the grieving woman.

Warrick was touched by how sensitive Leighanne was. He watched as she placed a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder and talked in a soothing tone trying to calm her. Leighanne wasn't like most cops that Warrick knew, most of them would push Donna for the answers they were looking for, not caring that the woman had just lost some of her closest friends.

"Thank you," Donna Smith whispered once she had stopped crying.

"Your welcome," Leighanne drawled, Warrick found himself starting to really like her laidback Louisiana accent. "Why don't you take a few moments to compose yourself and then we can finish with these questions."

* * *

Greg was wandering around the perimeter of the house. He was most of the way round, and so far he hadn't noticed anything of substance. There were no obvious broken or forced windows, no shoeprints in any of the flowerbeds; nothing at all that would indicate that someone had been where they shouldn't. Coming around to the front door, he decided it might be a good idea to print the door. If there was no forced entry, then the only other way into the house was through that door.

"How's it going Greg?" Leighanne Andrews asked from behind him.

Greg jumped slightly. "You really shouldn't sneak up on people!"

"Sorry. Ma witness is taking a breather at the moment; I just thought I'd see how you were doing," Leighanne told him.

"There's no sign of forced entry. I'm just printing the door to see if I can lift any viable prints," Greg informed her.

"I doubt you'll find any, my witness was the last person to touch that door."

"I know it's a long shot but it's the best we have at the moment. We might get lucky," Greg shrugged.

"Luck isn't going to solve this case Sanders."

"I know. We are." Greg assured her.

"That's what I like to hear." Leighanne smiled at him, then turned and headed back to where Warrick was waiting with Donna Smith.

Greg went back to work printing the door. He knew Leighanne was right, there wasn't much of a chance they'd get any useful prints, but it was worth a try.

When he was finished, Greg put his printing powder back in his kit and started moving back around the house. It wasn't long before he reached the window that led to the dining room. The first thing that jumped out at him was the two very prominent shoeprints in the flowerbed below the window. He couldn't believe he'd missed them before.

Greg snapped off some free shots of the prints and then some comparative shots. The shoe size was around eleven and was sneaker like in design, but a computer search would confirm that for him.

There was also a face print on the window, it looked as if someone had scoped out the room before entering the house. _'Maybe how he had managed to kill most of them before they even left their seats'_ Greg mused. He snapped off some photos of the smear then took a small swab, hoping to get some sort of DNA sample from it.

Taking one last glance around the grounds, Greg headed for the house.

**TBC…**

* * *

**Authors' Notes: Sorry we've taken so long to finish this, but sometimes real life just gets in the way, and sometimes you just get stuck ;)**

**Reviews brighten our day, and give us motivation to get writing the next chapter... **


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